Soil erosion impact

Exploration activities are potentially damaging to the environment. The cutting down of trees in preparation for an onshore seismic survey may result in severe soil erosion in years to come. Offshore, fragile ecological systems such as reefs can be permanently damaged by spills of crude or mud chemicals. Responsible companies will therefore carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to activity planning and draw up contingency plans should an accident occur. In Section 4.0 a more detailed description of health, safety and environmental considerations will be provided. 

Emergency Preparedness Measures adapted to increased incidents of forest fires, insect infestations and the impacts of soil erosion. 

Table III illustrates the impact of adsorption on the leaching of organic chemicals in the soil. A water input of 305 cm was used, which is equivalent to a full year of precipitation in the eastern United States. In a soil with a field capacity of 30%, the water would penetrate 1017 cm. Mirex with a very large Kqc is practically immobile after a full year of precipitation, it is still on the surface. It is likely that any compound adsorbed this strongly would be carried off the land surface by soil erosion instead of being leached into the soil. In contrast, DBCP, which is very weakly adsorbed, penetrates the soil profile almost as far as the water does.

The impact of organic fanning on soil properties has been covered comprehensively by research in most aspects. Information is somewhat scarce only with respect to soil erosion. Research shows that organic farming tends to conserve soil fertility and system stability better than conventional farming... 

Soil erosion continues to be one of the greatest threats to the sustainability of agriculture around the world. Erosion caused by water and wind reduces rich topsoil and crop yields. Soil erosion also produces a variety of adverse off-site impacts, including increased sedimentation of lakes and streams and transport of nutrients and pesticides to surface waters (Ribaudo and Johansson, 2006) (Table 1.5). 

Conservation tillage is one of the most practical and economical ways to reduce soil erosion. Surface crop residue protects the soil from the erosive impacts of wind and rain. Reductions in erosion are proportional to the soil coverage of crop residue. From 78% to 89% of the variance in erosion between tillage systems is explained by the percentage of soil coverage by plant residue (Laflen el al, 1978). No-till systems, which leave nearly all surface plant residue in place, usually reduce erosion by 90% or more. 

The use of conservation tillage, made possible by triazine and other herbicides, has dramatically reduced soil erosion and its on- and off-site impacts. Significant benefits from the use of herbicides such as the triazines can be realized because conservation tillage reduces erosion, sedimentation, and flooding. By creating a crop field with many features comparable to those in natural areas, conservation tillage also provides other benefits to the environment and to wildlife. 

In small-scale farm production of ethanol a possible environmental impact could occur through removal of crop residues for use as a boiler fuel. Crop residues are important because they help control soil erosion through their cover and provide nutrients, minerals, and fibrous material which help maintain soil quality. However, not more than one-third to one-half of the residues from a grain crop devoted to ethanol production need be used to fuel the process. Also, there are several methods, such as crop rotation and winter cover crops, which lessen the impact of crop residue removal. ... 

Using more coal to produce hydrogen will have a number of environmental consequences. Coal mining itself causes numerous environmental issues, ranging from widespread land disturbance, soil erosion, dust, biodiversity impacts, waste piles, and so forth, to subsidence and abandoned mine workings. Once coal has been extracted, it needs to be moved from the mine to the power plant or other place of use. 

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